Marion Mailaender, Résidence vue mer

You might find this title a little expected? And you’re thinking to yourself that indeed the sea is only 300 meters away from the exhibition and that perhaps “Mountain view Residence” would have been a little… so to speak… irrelevant? Well you are not completely in the wrong, and Marion Mailender is well aware of it, she was indeed expecting your reaction.
It should be said that Marion masters the art of a straight to the point title, the kind that sets the scene in just three words. This is how she describes her work. You just have to wonder the internet for a bit to realize it, as you read through the first referenced articles “Fun is the function rather than form is the function” or “less is more but too much is cool”.
Quotes that for a while had me thinking that her casualness and humor were mainly a way of hiding her shyness, but then I realize that even though she was indeed a bit shy, but not that much, Marion has the delicacy and elegance of never wanting to bore others, even less with her work.
And as we know, you should always beware of shortcuts. Because actually Marion is not laid-back, she is free. She is not just plain funny, she is witty. The kind of wit that inquisitive people have, and she understands that extreme hardship is the only way to then have fun.
SeeView Residence, is then not just a funny title that sounds like a property ad, but also a discreet way to recall a shared story, and also pin point more intimate subject that are close to her heart, and that guide her, since the start, to engineer bold and daring interior architecture and design projects. For the collective story, lets rewind and give a quick summary of a time where France was healing her wounds from the Second World War, and decided to launch a vast recovery project that was going to shape the french architecture landscape. They had to act fast, the needs were huge and for the largest numbers. The vertical town envisioned by Le Corbusier with his Cité Radieuse was born, and would gently give the tempo: verticality became a must and life as collective a growing story – or will not be. They swore by modernism, and installed paid leave as an improvement to the standard of living. As a consequence the french raided the Mediterranean cost. The result is that between Nice and La Grande Motte, a doted line of holiday home will appear, with a must have requirement, the sea as the only horizon.
So why this title? Because this is the kind of living condition that Marion grew up in, in Marseille, chasing her cousins at family gatherings in the corridors of the Cité Radieuse, or in the luxury hallways of her friends’ buildings. These are the precise happy memories that she wanted to showcase and recount to the public through her invitation at Design Parade Toulon, because it is there that she indeed draws her inspiration.
So if at this stage you are still wondering why this title, there is only one way to answer. Go ahead and push the glass door, go on, don’t be afraid, and follow the path of this staw like ground battered by the sun and the sand, you might come across Mister Marchioni, who has lost is joy as fast as he started his retirement, or Mister and Misses Martineaud, the 3B neighbors. In case no one answers the door bell, and the caretaker blinds are shut, wait, because Rose and Bettina shouldn’t be too long coming back from the beach. And by all means, do not hesitate to stop them in their clowning, as it can go on indefinitely. Tell them that you are here to visit the ground floor apartment, they will open the door for you, they have the keys.
Here, there you go, you are finally in, so relax and let the place guide you. On your left, through the window, you can see Jean Pierre from a distance, the top floor neighbor, who is ever so ready to organize Apéros (drinks with friends) for the co-owned community in the building, as much as he is trying to teach wind surf to his nieces and nephews, as soon as the summer sun comes out.
And most likely in the living room that is on your right, and that is because, as everyone will tell you in the building « it’s the best place for apéros, wether you are 5 or 15 ». And whilst you here and some doors are missing, have a look around the rest of the place, you might smile at some details, and with others reminisce at your own memories without realizing it. If that’s not the case, no need to panic, it’s alright, because this visit would of at least gave you an idea of what it is to live a life where happiness and friendliness govern, both subject that Marion wanted to highlight with this exhibition.
“Seaview Residence” is indeed the title. And yes, there could have been another title, something like « enchanted interlude », but you have to admit, it would not have sparked your curiosity, moreover this title was the one of a movie that came out in 2000. One that was shot in a location nearby, and you might also guess the storyline.
Sophie Pinet

Marion Mailaender lives and works between Paris and Marseille. She studied at the Boulle Design School, since 2004 she designs objects as well as sceneries, for homes, hotels or retailers.
Marion Mailaender establishes duality in her work. She applies rigorous technicality to her work, keen to solve real layout issues in an apartment, a shop or a hotel. Her structural benchmark is inspired by basic design principals on for and function. She adds to that the result of a visual search based on small details that contribute to distort and soften spaces and volumes of her programs.
Without any regards for hypothetical genre hierarchy, she grasps with the same vision, a modern sculpture, a design furniture, a second hand object or an advertising ornament. These aesthetic trinkets, ordinary objects, add a soul to daily occupied spaces that she creates, and represent Marion Mailaender signature style.
“Less is more, too much is cool”: she is at a cross path between minimalism and entertaining diversions, sometimes nostalgic, inherited from postmodernism. Marion Mailaender creations, have a rigorous construction and are built by a blueprint, cut out and calculation loving personality. Aspects of her job that she loves and therefore make an overall work of art, where daily life pieces and sought after objects compensate each other in a nice equilibrium.
Plastic pipes and drain valves in a bathroom are a reminder of the initial purpose of this scuba-diving club, or even a designer piece, like a coffee table from Wendy Andreu, coupled with a 70’s vertical shelves, brings a tightness between a defined approach and a new generation of designers. This eclectic view sums up the whole of her career, with key projects such as Endless Summer furniture (2013), Amélie Pichard store (2017) or Tuba Club (2020).
In your opinion how do you fall within design and interior design?
I fall in between architecture and decoration. I consider myself an interior designer, who draws and make the most of spaces and places in order to give them a function. I am serving the individual that will use it. I consider my occupation as a useful one, that needs good sense and logic. There are several female interior designers that have proven this point to me. Even though the act of decoration as been considered as feminine, it has not been the case with architecture, wether it is interior design or not. Andrée Putmann, Gale Aulenti, Lina Bo Bardi, who has created a house full of transparency and that fascinated me the first time I saw it, are all inspirational figures to me.
How does it feel to have been nominated the jury’s president of Design Parade?
I slightly have imposter’s syndrome but I am also very happy to be able to support the youngsters’ creation. I am learning from them; all these applications that I have seen illuminate tomorrow’s architecture. And I am a firm believer in encounters, it has been a blessing for us as well as for these youngsters. It is very important professionally as well as humanly. My selection approach and instructions was to favour creativity. We favoured those who showed creativity within their architectural vision that took over the space and volume. We chose the projects that were the most inquisitive. It is with much joy that I welcome Design Parade. It is the only interior design show that gives a voice to the young generation with such eclecticism. It’s simple and spontaneous at the Villa.
What’s your project’s program?
It is a domestic project based around the ideal seaside residence. I investigate the idea of a sea view collective residence. I want to address another point of view of the Mediterranean, with an emphasis on its post Second World War buildings, which define a sort of French Dream era with its holidays, paid annual leave, a sort of opulent wellness inspired by the 70’s, the Riviera, etc. It is also a lingering memory of the neighborhood I grew up in, in Marseille, shaped by post war high standing buildings, with details like metallic doors with brass handles and marble entrance hall. To sum up this project is a personal and universal mythology based around a given idea of the Mediterranean costal collective habitat.
It is an experimental apartment. There a lot of suggestive rather than tangible objects, just like the seaview is not and object per say for example. It is about shapes and shadows, like the bathroom or the banister made out of soap. It is the image of what is a holiday apartment, with its sketches, trials on what could be a fitted kitchen, a platform living-room with a view. I am speaking up on a subject that I would not be able to work on in any other environment. I am speaking up on subjects that are close to my heart and for once I don’t have to find functionality. Yet I can experiment on things that might be useful for future projects. This seaview blind I wouldn’t have done it anywhere else, it is a scenery in it self, an illusion suitable for this drill.
This project has aloud me many things, like leading a visitor out by a wardrobe or ring the doorbell of someone that doesn’t exist anymore. There will be much details, in order to give this balance between raw, experimental and vernacular things, and more sophisticated craftsmen’s creation.
I transform the restrains of the place into strengths.
Emmanuelle Luciani et Élie Chich